The fake IPL player blog

This has been one of the most entertaining things I have seen lately. Someone has dreamt up this idea to impersonate a fake IPL player of the Kolkata team. Its caught on like wildfire.

fakeiplplayer.blogspot.com

All about the future

Since when have I come all about the future. There was a time when I was all about the present. And now I have become to well planned that I have no time to actually live today. When I was a child I did not even think about the next minutes simply because I did not know what time means anyways.When i was in college I expanded my horizons and started to think about the next few months when exams were coming up or when big football matches were happening.

After college I being a slow expander did not think about the future more than what I in 1 day in my new job. I did not see any future in that job. In fact I did not have the ability to see future anyways.

I quit 5 jobs; doing the 6th now. Now I have changed. I have woken up to the future. And that is very bad; not the future but the thought of the future. Because the future cannot be predicted still while its very much possible trying to speculate about it. I have woken up to worrying about the future. I always missed it in my life. And now I have it. And now that I have it, I dont want it anymore. I want to get rid of it.

everything is all about the future. Up above is a picture of a brooding girl.

This picture is taken on Helsinki airport, no no its Frankfurt next to a classic Piagio Vespa scooter. Look at my face. I have stopped living in the now. My face is always whats happening next. When will I write my book if I only speculate about when will I write my first book?

Stockholm in November 08

I was in Stockholm in November 08 from 1 to 15. This was the first time I was consulting Banking division on technical topics. the trip was uneventful and mostly work only. We were located at a place called Sollentuna aand the office was 15 minutes by taxi at a place called Kista.

अक्टूबर मधले लाइफ

सध्या काही ख़ास होत नसल्या मुले बोरे जालो आहे जरा। रेमिन्ड्स में ऑफ़ थिस फोटो फ्रॉम केरला ट्रिप. I am thinking of what to do next. Big time cross roads. पोट सुत्तला आहे आणि आयुष्य स्लो जाला आहे जरा। विचार करून करून पण दमलो आहे अता। वेटिंग फॉर व्हाट विल हप्पें नेक्स्ट।

Jönköping trip

Ashwin's colleague Anders graciously invited us to stay the weekend with his family in Jönköping. This was the first time we were going to stay with a Swedish family and I was really looking forward to it. We drove down Jönköping with Anders on Friday about 300 kms from Malmo. Its a small town, the 9th largest in Sweden with about 125,000 inhabitants, in the county of Småland which is charecterized by gently rolling hills topped with dense coniferous forests. The landscape is really stunning, so thickly wooded. Its a steep little town with pretty houses perched on the slopes of the hill around the lake Vättern. And what view from the house, man!!! Can't believe they wake up to that view every day !!


Anders and his wife, Camilla have 2 children Ellen and Jonathan, 2 cuties who were a lot of fun & quintessentially Swedish- blonde, blue eyed. Jonathan took a fancy to Ashwin and stuck to him all through the stay. I don't think its ever happened before :-). The family really went out of the way to entertain us, taking us out around the area, then to their summer house. Especially the ever enthusiastic Anders, a coffee lover. He even owns his own coffee machine and was churning out great cups of cappuchinos for us.








We, first visited Gränna, a town with traditional old houses and numerous candy factories which attracts a lot of tourists. Saturday is "candy day"for the children in Sweden, so the town was full of tourists, the old and the young variety alike!!





The summer house was very very charming, in a very picturesque setting - by a peaceful lake and in a thick forest of pine trees and nearly no one around. We both wished we had one. The Swedes really know how to live!








A traditional Swedish house or a summer house for that matter is always a red-painted cottage with white borders. Anders' was really well built, it had everything.







He also had a raft ! We sailed on the tranquil lake just before it started pouring. That ride with thick connifers lining the banks was so so peaceful.. and so still.. as if nothing was moving around us. It felt like some remote island when it was actually just 15 mins from the town.




Had a barbecue for dinner in all that rain- grilled salmon ! Went down well and fast with Ashwin, for sure !!

स्वीडन मधला ऑफिस

मालमो, स्वीडन मधे ऑफिस आहे आमचे, सग्ल्यान्ना छोटी रूम आहे, मी गेस्ट टेबल वर बसायचो, गर्दी खुप कमी असल्या मुले काम करायला मजा आली. शांता वातावरण
आणि मोकले डेस्क अजुन आठवतात क्लेअर्ली. तीन महीने होतो मी इथे.

Sweden road trips Part II

Another long weekend, so needless to say another road trip !! The occasion- Midsummers celebration on 20th and 21st June when the whole of Sweden is out partying. I think we are on a mission to go completely broke!But if the last trip felt worth it, this one felt even more overwhelmingly so !

We started out with a plan to visit Goteborg in the southwest, 2nd largest city in Sweden. And as they say the journey matters more than the destination, it held true for us. We loved the drive and everything in betweens starting from the cute cafe we had breakfast at, the landscape, the sights- everything! We left the mostly flat with huge lush fields region of Skane and entered the sometimes hilly with tall trees and sometimes rocky terrains of Halland county of Goteland region.




Near Varberg, we visited World War I radio station
at Grimeton. Its the only such long wave radio station left in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Sadly, it was closed.







Then a last minute decision landed us ;unknowingly; in the midst of a big mid-summers celebration. We got off the highway to visit Tjoloholms castle and had no idea that there was a big party on on the grounds there and we even unsuspectingly paid the entry fee thinking it was for the castle.















But it was fun. Amongst a sea of Swedish white country folks with families, here were two strangers roaming around not knowing where they were!! The castle was beautiful and the view of the sea behind it was breath-taking.

We landed in Goteborg at 3 p.m.it was raining,we were famished and in a not so very good mood . So there was nothing going for the town. Its supposedly beautiful, but us being in no mood to explore, we started back, which is a pity really.


The area of Osterlen, particularly Simrisham was something straight out of a book. It was picture-perfect. Cobbled-stoned streets, pretty harbour and quaint pastel coloured houses that I have so come to love! In fact, I can't get enough of them and keep clicking almost every house much to the irritation of Ashwin







Quite near to Simrishamn is Stenshuvud National Park with stunning views, splendid trails and surreal beach. Well, the beach, don't even know where to start. Surreal, that is the only word coming to my mind. Maybe because I haven't seen a sight like this in India - deep blue sea, golden sand and hardly anyone around.















On Sunday, we started out for Kulla peninsula on top of Helsinborg even though it was dull day with a grey cast ominous sky. Yet we were lucky. It rained only whenever we were in the car. First stop, Kullaberg Nature reserve. There are some 11 caves here and great opportunity to go diving, caving, fishing, rock climbing, fishing, golfing and hiking. We took the last option- hiking. Kullen lighthouse, is considered the brightest in Sweden.

















The entrance to the reserve is through the tiny fishing village of Molle which has houses perched on its steephill and a small harbour. The weather was kind to us and we could enjoy lunch there.